Dry bean line 08550815

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of the bean line designated 08550815. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of bean line 08550815, and to methods for producing a bean plant produced by crossing a plant of bean line 08550815 with itself or with another bean plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of bean line 08550815, including the pods and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of bean line 08550815.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of crop breeding is to combine various desirable traits in asingle variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include greater yield,resistance to insects or pests, tolerance to heat and drought, betteragronomic quality, higher nutritional value, growth rate and fruit orpod properties.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different varieties produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines are evaluatedto determine which of those have commercial potential.

One crop species which has been subject to such breeding programs and isof particular value is dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Beans are annual,warm-season legumes. Dry beans are generally harvested as mature dryseeds, as opposed to snap beans (also known as green beans, gardenbeans, or pole beans) which are generally harvested when the seeds aresucculent. In the United States, approximately 2 million acres annuallyare planted with dry beans. Globally, over 25 million hectares arecultivated with dry beans, which in 2005 yielded 10 million metric tonsof beans.

While breeding efforts to date have provided a number of useful dry beanlines with beneficial traits, there remains a great need in the art fornew lines with further improved traits. Such plants would benefitfarmers and consumers alike by improving crop yields and/or quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a bean plant of the drybean line designated 08550815. Also provided are bean plants having allthe physiological and morphological characteristics of bean line08550815. Parts of the bean plant of the present invention are alsoprovided, for example, including pollen, an ovule, a pod, and a cell ofthe plant.

The invention also concerns seed of bean line 08550815. In oneembodiment, the bean seed of the invention may be provided as anessentially homogeneous population of bean seed of the line designated08550815. Essentially homogeneous populations of seed are generally freefrom substantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seed of line 08550815may be defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed,including at least about 98%, 99%, or more of the seed. The populationof bean seed may, in particular embodiments, be particularly defined asbeing essentially free from hybrid seed. The seed population may beseparately grown to provide an essentially homogeneous population ofbean plants designated 08550815.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of bean line 08550815comprising an added heritable trait is provided. The heritable trait maycomprise a genetic locus that is, for example, a dominant or recessiveallele. In one embodiment of the invention, a plant of bean line08550815 is defined as comprising a single locus conversion. In specificembodiments of the invention, an added genetic locus confers one or moretraits such as, for example, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,disease resistance, and modified carbohydrate metabolism. In furtherembodiments, the trait may be conferred by a naturally occurring geneintroduced into the genome of the line by backcrossing, a natural orinduced mutation, or a transgene introduced through genetictransformation techniques into the plant or a progenitor of any previousgeneration thereof. When introduced through transformation, a geneticlocus may comprise one or more genes integrated at a single chromosomallocation.

In another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a plant of line 08550815 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants capable of expressing allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of the line, andof regenerating plants having substantially the same genotype as otherplants of the line. Examples of some of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the line 08550815 include those traitsset forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in such tissuecultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides beanplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of line08550815.

In yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing bean seeds, plants and pods, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent bean plant with a second parent beanplant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent bean plants isa plant of the line designated 08550815. These processes may be furtherexemplified as processes for preparing hybrid bean seed or plants,wherein a first bean plant is crossed with a second bean plant of adifferent, distinct line to provide a hybrid that has, as one of itsparents, the bean plant line 08550815. In these processes, crossing willresult in the production of seed. The seed production occurs regardlessof whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent bean plant, oftenin proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediated byinsect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually. Wherethe plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without the need fordirect human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent bean plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the male portions of flowers, (i.e., treating ormanipulating the flowers to produce an emasculated parent bean plant). Afourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent bean plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent bean plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a bean plant or hybrid beanplant.

The present invention also provides the bean seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent bean plant with asecond parent bean plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent bean plants is a plant of the line designated 08550815. In oneembodiment of the invention, bean seed and plants produced by theprocess are first generation (F₁) hybrid bean seed and plants producedby crossing a plant in accordance with the invention with another,distinct plant. The present invention further contemplates plant partsof such an F₁ hybrid bean plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore,certain exemplary embodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid beanplant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofthe bean plant line designated 08550815 is provided. The phrase “geneticcomplement” is used to refer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences,the expression of which sequences defines the phenotype of, in thepresent case, a bean plant, or a cell or tissue of that plant. A geneticcomplement thus represents the genetic makeup of a cell, tissue orplant, and a hybrid genetic complement represents the genetic make up ofa hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The invention thus provides bean plantcells that have a genetic complement in accordance with the bean plantcells disclosed herein, and plants, seeds and plants containing suchcells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that line 08550815 could be identified by any of themany well known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., 1990), Randomly AmplifiedPolymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF),Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs), Arbitrary PrimedPolymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified Fragment LengthPolymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporated herein byreference in its entirety), and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)(Wang et al., 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by bean plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a bean plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second bean plant, preferably, another, distinct beanplant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a bean plantregenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a plant of an inbredbean line that exhibits a combination of traits comprising an erect,full-season plant type, large white seeds, and resistance to both beancommon mosaic virus and rust (Uromyces appendiculatus). In certainembodiments, the trait may be defined as controlled by genetic means forthe expression of the trait found in bean line 08550815.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of bean line 08550815 comprisingdetecting in the genome of the plant at least a first polymorphism. Themethod may, in certain embodiments, comprise detecting a plurality ofpolymorphisms in the genome of the plant. The method may furthercomprise storing the results of the step of detecting the plurality ofpolymorphisms on a computer readable medium. The invention furtherprovides a computer readable medium produced by such a method.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from line 08550815, the method comprising thesteps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from line 08550815,wherein said preparing comprises crossing a plant of the line 08550815with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or asecond plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration. In further embodiments, the method may additionallycomprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequent generation fromsaid seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation and crossing theprogeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself or a second plant;and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10 generations to produce aplant derived from line 08550815. The plant derived from line 08550815may be an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing stepsmay be defined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbredline. In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plantsresulting from step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b)and (c). By selecting plants having one or more desirable traits, aplant derived from line 08550815 is obtained which possesses some of thedesirable traits of the line as well as potentially other selectedtraits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing beans comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of bean line 08550815,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collectingbeans from the plant.

These and other features and advantages of this invention are describedin, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of variousexemplary embodiments of the devices and methods according to thisinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of the dry bean line designated 08550815. Thisline shows uniformity and stability within the limits of environmentalinfluence for the traits described hereinafter. Bean line 08550815provides sufficient seed yield. By crossing with a distinct secondplant, uniform Fl hybrid progeny can be obtained.

Line 08550815 exhibits a number of beneficial traits including slightlycurved pods with a flat cross section, white seeds with no hilar ringand resistance to bean common mosaic virus and rust. The development ofthe line can be summarized as follows.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Bean Line 08550815

Bean line 08550815 was developed by pedigree selection from a cross ofR97YT85, a breeding line of complex origin, to the Michigan StateUniversity variety “Matterhorn.”

R97YT85 is also known as Starlight BCMBC1/Alpine BCMBC1. It was derivedfrom a cross between two breeding lines derived by backcrossing the Iallele for resistance to all strains of bean common mosaic virus intothe varieties Starlight and Alpine. The source of the I allele for bothlines was JM24, a USDA release. Starlight is a great northern beanvariety developed at the University of Nebraska. Alpine is a greatnorthern bean variety developed at Michigan State University.

Crossing and selections were made as follows:

Winter, Year 1 Planted R97YT85 and Matterhorn. Crosses made. Summer,Year 1 Planted F1 seeds. Allowed plants to self-pollinate. Summer, Year2 Planted F2 seeds. Selected individual plants. Fall, Year 2 Planted F3seeds. Allowed plants to self-pollinate. Winter, Year 3 Planted F4seeds. Allowed plants to self-pollinate. Summer, Year 3 Planted F5.Selected individual plants. Summer, Year 4 Planted F6 under the numberR01 22086. Selected this line for erect productive plants with uniformlylarge seed and with resistance to rust and bean common mosaic virus.Observations during the growing season indicated the line was uniformand stable. All subsequent increases of bean line 08550815 trace to thebulk of R01 22086. Summer, Year 5 Space planted a stock of 08550815.Harvested as 200 individual plant selections. Summer, Year 6 Planted 200individual plant selections as a progeny increase under the numberRWD455. Observations during the growing season confirmed 08550815 isuniform and stable.

Selection criteria in the field represent a balance of characteristicsrelated to productivity and quality and to goodness to fit for marketneeds such as erect plant type, large white seeds and with resistance toboth bean common mosaic virus and rust.

Observations during two years confirm that bean line 08550815 is uniformand stable within commercially acceptable limits. As is true with otherdry bean varieties, a small percentage of off-types can occur withincommercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristic during thecourse of repeated multiplications. No variants are known to occur.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Bean Line 08550815

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of bean line 08550815. A description of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of bean line 08550815 ispresented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Line 08550815CHARACTERISTIC Bean Line 08550815 1 Market Class Class Great Northern 2Maturity Maturity Medium (90-100 Days) Days from Planting to Harvest 96Maturity Days from Planting to Harvest 99 Maturity of Check Variety“UI-59” 3 Plant Habit Type IIb: Erect Growth Habit-indeterminate; GuidesMedium to Long; with No Ability to Climb Average Height of Mature Plant,in 50 cm. Average Height of Check Variety, in 45 cm. (Use Same Check asAbove) Pod Position High (Lower Pods Not Touching Soil Surface)Adaptability to Machine Harvest Adapted Lodging Resistance Good 4Leaflet Morphology (Use terminal Leaflet of a Fully ExpandedTrifoliolate) Smooth or Wrinkled? Wrinkled Dull, Glossy, Semiglossy orVariable? Dull Shape Ovate Apex of Leaflet Acuminate Base of LeafletObtuse 5 Flower Color and Days to Bloom Color of Standard White Color ofWings White Color of Keel White Days to 50% Bloom 45 6 Pod MorphologyColor Pattern Green Pod - Solid Mature Pod- Solid Primary Color GreenPod - Green Mature Pod - Tan Cross Section Shape Green Pod - Flat MaturePod - Flat Pod Curvature Green Pod - Slightly Curved Mature Pod -Slightly Curved Pod Beak Orientation Green Pod - Curved Downward MaturePod - Curved Downward Average Beak Length 1.0 cm Constrictions GreenPod - Slight Mature Pod - Slight Average Number of Seeds per Pod   5.0 7Seed Color Shiny, Dull, Semishiny or Variable? Semishiny Monochrome orPolychrome? Monochrome Primary Color White Color Pattern Solid HilarRing Absent 8 Seed Shape and Weight Shape of Seed Taken From Middle ofCuboid Pod Dry Seed Weight in g/100 g Seeds 39 (Adjusted to 12%Moisture) 9 Anthocyanin Pigmentation Flowers Absent Stems Absent PodsAbsent Seeds Absent Leaves Absent Petioles Absent Peduncles Absent NodesAbsent 10 Known Disease Reaction Bean Common Mosaic Virus Resistant (“I”gene against all races) (common and scientific name) Rust (common name)Resistant Uromyces appendiculatus (scientific name) Race 53 *These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are within the scope of the invention.

Bean line 08550815, being substantially homozygous, can be reproduced byplanting seeds of the line, growing the resulting bean plant underself-pollinating or sib-pollinating conditions and harvesting theresulting seeds using techniques familiar to one of skill in the art.

C. Breeding Bean Line 08550815

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing thebean line 08550815 with itself or a second plant and the seeds andplants produced by such methods. These methods can be used forpropagation of line 08550815, or can be used to produce hybrid beanseeds and the plants grown therefrom. Hybrid seeds are produced bycrossing line 08550815 with second bean parent line.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing line 08550815 followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) in progeny. Once initial crosses have beenmade, inbreeding and selection take place to produce new varieties. Fordevelopment of a uniform line, often five or more generations of selfingand selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner, true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with line08550815 and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

New varieties may be created, for example, by crossing line 08550815with any second plant and selection of progeny in various generationsand/or by doubled haploid technology. In choosing a second plant tocross for the purpose of developing novel lines, it may be desired tochoose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)in progeny. After one or more lines are crossed, true-breeding lines maybe developed.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny are heterozygous for locicontrolling the characteristic being transferred, but are like thesuperior parent for most or almost all other loci. The last backcrossgeneration would be selfed to give pure breeding progeny for the traitbeing transferred.

The line of the present invention is particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the line. In selecting a second plant to cross with08550815 for the purpose of developing novel bean lines, it willtypically be preferred to choose those plants which either themselvesexhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibitthe desired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples ofdesirable characteristics may include, for example, seed yield, seedsize, seed shape, seed uniformity, pod size, pod shape, pod color, poduniformity, early maturity, disease resistance, herbicide tolerance,seedling vigor, adaptability for soil conditions, adaptability forclimate conditions, and uniform plant height.

D. Performance Characteristics

Performance characteristics of the line were the subject of an objectiveanalysis of the performance traits of the line relative to other lines.Results from the analysis are presented in Tables 2 and 3, below.

TABLE 2 Performance Characteristics For Line 08550815 and a ComparisonVariety: Number of Seeds per 10 g Weight Year 08550815 Matterhorn 200323.06 28.56 2004 24.03 30.03 2005 23.93 30.30 2006 24.40 28.40 200721.30 28.75 Avg 23.34 29.21

Statistical analysis of the data in Table 2 shows that this differencein seed size would be expected with a probability of much less than 1%if there were no real difference in seed size between the two varieties.

TABLE 3 Performance Characteristics For Line 08550815 and ComparisonVarieties Yield Flowering Maturity Growth Variety (lbs/a) (days) (days)Habit Matterhorn 3260 46 101 2b/3a Marquis 3236 46 103 3b Rog 591 321545 97 3a/3b Beryl 3196 45 99 3b ISB 97-4071 3136 46 102 3b 8550815 312945 102 2b/3 Beryl R 3119 46 98 3b Pairie 3091 45 99 3b PV99131 2997 4599 3b Orion (99124) 2980 46 103 3a/3b Big Horn 2968 47 107 3b ND1-04-42967 46 100 2b Pv 01115 2936 46 103 3a/3b Ivory 2933 45 93 3b GN-1-992898 49 105 3b PV01121 2729 47 102 2b/3a PV00117 2722 47 100 3b ND3 04-42710 46 102 2b/3a GTS-2402 2682 47 107 3b PV99136 2654 46 96 2b ND3 04-82420 46 101 2b NE1-05-4 2297 47 102 3a/3b GRAND 2922 46 101 MEAN LSD 2661 3 CV 14.24 2.66 2.32

E. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those bean plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalbean plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristic istermed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers to thefact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental bean plant to whichthe locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred is knownas the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a bean plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered inthe converted plant, in addition to the single transferred locus fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance it may benecessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny bean plants of a backcross in which 08550815is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired trait from thenon-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of bean line 08550815 as determined at the 5%significance level when grown in the same environmental conditions.

Bean varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,male sterility, herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,or viral disease, insect resistance, restoration of male fertility,modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, and enhanced nutritionalquality. These comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. An example of a dominant trait is the anthracnoseresistance trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are sprayed with anthracnose spores prior to the backcrossing. Thespraying eliminates any plants which do not have the desired anthracnoseresistance characteristic, and only those plants which have theanthracnose resistance gene are used in the subsequent backcross. Thisprocess is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of bean plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding ofbean are well known in the art. Such methods will be of particularutility in the case of recessive traits and variable phenotypes, orwhere conventional assays may be more expensive, time consuming orotherwise disadvantageous. Types of genetic markers which could be usedin accordance with the invention include, but are not necessarilylimited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams etal., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

F. Plants Derived From Bean Line 08550815 by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into the bean line of the invention ormay, alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which canbe introduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plants,including bean, are well known to those of skill in the art. Techniqueswhich may be employed for the genetic transformation of bean include,but are not limited to, electroporation, microprojectile bombardment,Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and direct DNA uptake byprotoplasts.

As is well known in the art, tissue culture of bean can be used for thein vitro regeneration of a bean plant. Tissue culture of various tissuesof beans and regeneration of plants there from is well known. Forexample, reference may be had to McClean and Grafton (1989); Mergeai andBaudoin (1990); Vanderwesthuizen and Groenewald (1990); Benedicic et al.(1990); Malik and Saxena (1991).

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

A particularly efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segmentsto plant cells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particlesare coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target bean cells. The screen disperses the particles sothat they are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.It is believed that a screen intervening between the projectileapparatus and the cells to be bombarded reduces the size of projectilesaggregate and may contribute to a higher frequency of transformation byreducing the damage inflicted on the recipient cells by projectiles thatare too large.

Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species. For example, Russell etal. (1993).

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., 1985). Moreover, recent technological advances in vectorsfor Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangementof genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate theconstruction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide codinggenes. The vectors described have convenient multi-linker regionsflanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expressionof inserted polypeptide coding genes. Additionally, Agrobacteriumcontaining both armed and disarmed Ti genes can be used fortransformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055).Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of P. vulgaris is described in,for example, Zhang et al. (1997); McClean et al. (1991); Lewis and Bliss(1994); and Song et al. (1995).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., 1985; Omirulleh et al., 1993; Fromm et al., 1986;Uchimiya et al., 1986; Marcotte et al., 1988). Transformation of plantsand expression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(1994), and Ellul et al. (2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for garden bean plant geneexpression include, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus(CaMV) P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expressionin most plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., 1985), including inmonocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., 1990; Terada and Shimamoto, 1990);a tandemly duplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35Spromoter (P-e35S), the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., 1988), theoctopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., 1989); and the figwort mosaicvirus (P-FMV) promoter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619, and anenhanced version of the FMV promoter (P-eFMV) where the promotersequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem, the cauliflower mosaic virus19S promoter, a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter, a commelina yellowmottle virus promoter, and other plant DNA virus promoters known toexpress in plant cells.

With an inducible promoter the rate of transcription increases inresponse to an inducing agent. Any inducible promoter can be used in theinstant invention. A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulatedin response to environmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmentalsignals can be used for expression of an operably linked gene in plantcells, including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., 1988),(2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter, Kuhlemeier et al., 1989; maizerbcS promoter, Schaffner and Sheen, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., 1985), (3) hormones, such as abscisicacid (Marcotte et al., 1989), (4) wounding (e.g., wun1, Siebertz et al.,1989); or (5) chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, orSafener. It may also be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters(e.g., Roshal et al., 1987; Schernthaner et al., 1988; Bustos et al.,1989). Exemplary organ-specific or organ-preferred promoters include,but are not limited to, a root-preferred promoter, such as that from thephaseolin gene (Sengupta-Gopalan et al., 1985); a leaf-specific andlight-induced promoter such as that from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al.,1985) and Timko et al., 1985); an anther-specific promoter such as thatfrom LAT52 (Twell et al., 1989); a pollen-specific promoter such as thatfrom Zm13 (Guerrero et al., 1993) or a microspore-preferred promotersuch as that from apg (Twell et al., 1993).

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartmentsuch as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall, ormitochondroin or for secretion into the apoplast, may be accomplished bymeans of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signalsequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein ofinterest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structuralgene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where theencoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized. The presence of asignal sequence directs a polypeptide to either an intracellularorganelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion to the apoplast.Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, for example Becker etal. (1992); Knox et al. (1987); Lerner et al. (1989); Fontes et al.(1991); Matsuoka et al. (1991); Gould et al. (1989); Creissen et al.(1991); Kalderon et al. (1984); Steifel et al. (1990).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the bean lines ofthis invention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a bean plant according to the invention.Non-limiting examples of particular genes and corresponding phenotypesone may choose to introduce into a bean plant include one or more genesfor insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) gene, pesttolerance such as genes for fungal disease control, herbicide tolerancesuch as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, and genes for qualityimprovements such as yield, nutritional enhancements, environmental orstress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plant physiology, growth,development, morphology or plant product(s). For example, structuralgenes would include any gene that confers insect tolerance including butnot limited to a Bacillus insect control protein gene as described in WO99/31248, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S. Pat.No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, herein incorporated by reference ittheir entirety. In another embodiment, the structural gene can confertolerance to the herbicide glyphosate as conferred by genes including,but not limited to Agrobacterium strain CP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPSgene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435, hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety, or glyphosate oxidoreductasegene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175, herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., 1991). The RNA could also be a catalytic RNA molecule (i.e., aribozyme) engineered to cleave a desired endogenous mRNA product (seefor example, Gibson and Shillito, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces aprotein or mRNA which expresses a phenotype or morphology change ofinterest is useful for the practice of the present invention.

G. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

A: When used in conjunction with the word “comprising” or other openlanguage in the claims, the words “a” and “an” denote “one or more.”

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Bean Yield: A measure of productivity calculated from the weight of drybean seeds divided by the area harvested, for example, pounds per acre,kg per hectare, grams per 10′ of row, generally corrected for a standardmoisture content, e.g., 10% or 12%.

Broad Adaptation: A cultivar having a broad adaptability means acultivar or selection that will perform well in different growingconditions, locations, and seasons.

Bush Form: A USDA term about the visual look of the plant. A bean plantis: Spherical (even in width and height), Wide when the bush is widerthan tall, High when the bush is taller than wide, or Stem when theindividual branches protrude from the shape.

Concentrated set of pods: A concentrated set of pods refers to a plantwhere a high percentage of pods on a plant set and mature at the sametime.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Determinate plant: A determinate plant will grow to a fixed number ofnodes with a terminal floral raceme on reproductive branches, while anindeterminate plant continues to grow and does not have a terminalfloral raceme.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Direct harvest: Normally dry beans are harvested by cutting the plantsat the soil line and raking them into a “windrow” to dry, and are thencombined to harvest the seeds and separate the seeds from the plant andpod material. Varieties that are suitable for direct harvest generallyhave erect plants and a relatively high pod set and may be combinedwhile still standing in the field with being cut and raked into awindrow.

Dry pod color: The color of dry pods can be Buckskin (a light to palebrown), Salmon (a distinct reddish color), or Green (pale to intense)depending on the expression of the gene for persistent green.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Maturity: Number of days from planting to physiological maturity, oruntil the pods and seeds are sufficiently dry to be harvested with acombine. A maturity under 90 days is generally considered early whileone between 90-99 days would be considered average or medium and one of100 or more days would be late.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Pod Color: A USDA term that is applied to either green immature pods,(seed moisture of about 50%) or mature dry pods (seed moisture of about10-15%).

Pod Position: The pod position is the location of the pods within theplant. The pods can be high (near the top), low (near the bottom), ormedium (in the middle) of the plant, or scattered throughout the plant.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Seed darkening: The tendency of seed of certain classes with coloredseeds, such as pinto, to darken to an objectionable brown duringexposure to moisture and light. Slow seed darkening is generallydesirable.

Seed Size: The ratio of the weight of a number of seeds divided by thenumber of seeds, e.g., grams per 100 seeds.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a beanvariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tetraploid: A cell or organism having four sets of chromosomes.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a garden bean plant by transformation.

Triploid: A cell or organism having three sets of chromosomes.

H. Deposit Information

A deposit of bean line 08550815, disclosed above and recited in theclaims, has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC),10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of depositwas Apr. 9, 2009. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictions upon thedeposit will be removed, and the deposit is intended to meet all of therequirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. The accession number for thosedeposited seeds of bean line 08550815 is ATCC Accession No. PTA-9965.The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life ofthe patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessaryduring that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,365-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,275-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619-   An et al., Plant Physiol., 88:547, 1988.-   Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 20:49, 1992.-   Benedicic et al., Plant Cell Tissue Org. Cult., 24:199-206, 1990.-   Bird et al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991.-   Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989.-   Callis et al., Plant Physiol., 88:965, 1988.-   Choi et al., Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994.-   Creissen et al., Plant J., 2:129, 1991.-   Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591, 1990.-   Ellul et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 107:462-469, 2003.-   EP 534 858-   Fontes et al., Plant Cell, 3:483-496, 1991.-   Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985.-   Fromm et al., Nature, 312:791-793, 1986.-   Fromm et al., Plant Cell, 1:977, 1989.-   Gibson and Shillito, Mol. Biotech., 7:125,1997-   Gould et al., J. Cell. Biol., 108:1657, 1989.-   Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics, 244:161-168, 1993.-   Kalderon et al., Cell, 39:499-509, 1984.-   Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985.-   Knox et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 9:3-17, 1987.-   Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989.-   Lerner et al., Plant Physiol., 91:124-129, 1989.-   Lewis and Bliss, J. American Soc. Horticul. Sci., 119:361-366, 1994.-   Malik, and Saxena, Planta, 184(1):148-150, 1991.-   Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988.-   Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989.-   Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 88:834, 1991.-   McClean and Grafton, Plant Sci., 60:117-122, 1989.-   McClean et al., Plant Cell Tiss. Org. Cult., 24:131-138, 1991.-   Mergeai and Baudoin, B.I.C. Invit. Papers, 33:115-116, 1990.-   Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985.-   Omirulleh et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993.-   Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985.-   Roshal et al., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987.-   Russell et al., Plant Cell Reports, 12(3):165-169 (1993.-   Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991.-   Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988.-   Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82:3320-3324,    1985.-   Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989.-   Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985.-   Song et al., J. Plant Physiol., 146:148-154, 1995.-   Steifel et al., Plant Cell, 2:785-793, 1990.-   Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990.-   Timko et al., Nature, 318:579-582, 1985.-   Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics, 217:240-245, 1989.-   Twell et al., Sex. Plant Reprod., 6:217-224, 1993.-   Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986.-   Vanderwesthuizen and Groenewald, S. Afr. J. Bot., 56:271-273, 1990.-   Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998.-   Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990.-   WO 99/31248-   Zhang et al., J. American Soc. Horticul. Sci., 122(3):300-305, 1997.

1. A seed of bean line 08550815, a sample of seed of said line havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9965.
 2. A plant of beanline 08550815, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited underATCC Accession Number PTA-9965.
 3. A plant part of the plant of claim 2.4. The plant part of claim 3, wherein said part is selected from thegroup consisting of a pod, pollen, an ovule and a cell.
 5. A bean plant,or a part thereof, having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the bean plant of claim
 2. 6. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of bean line 08550815, a sample of seed of said linehaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9965.
 7. Thetissue culture according to claim 6, comprising cells or protoplastsfrom a plant part selected from the group consisting of embryos,meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips,pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 8. A bean plant regenerated from thetissue culture of claim 6, wherein the regenerated plant expresses allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of bean line08550815, a sample of seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-9965.
 9. A method of producing bean seed,comprising crossing the plant of claim 2 with itself or a second beanplant.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plant of bean line08550815 is the female parent.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein theplant of bean line 08550815 is the male parent.
 12. An F1 hybrid seedproduced by the method of claim
 9. 13. An F1 hybrid plant produced bygrowing the seed of claim
 12. 14. A method for producing a seed of aline 08550815-derived bean plant comprising the steps of: (a) crossing abean plant of line 08550815 with a second bean plant, a sample of seedof said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9965;and (b) allowing seed of a 08550815-derived bean plant to form.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising the steps of: (c) crossing aplant grown from said 08550815-derived bean seed with itself or a secondbean plant to yield additional 08550815-derived bean seed; (d) growingsaid additional 08550815-derived bean seed of step (c) to yieldadditional 08550815-derived bean plants; and (e) repeating the crossingand growing steps of (c) and (d) to generate further 08550815-derivedbean plants.
 16. A method of vegetatively propagating a plant of beanline 08550815 comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable ofbeing propagated from a plant of bean line 08550815, a sample of seed ofsaid line having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9965;(b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c)rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising growing plants from said rootedplantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into bean line08550815 comprising: (a) crossing a plant of line 08550815 with a secondbean plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1 progeny, asample of seed of said line 08550815 having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-9965; (b) selecting an Fl progeny that comprisesthe desired trait; (c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant ofline 08550815 to produce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcrossprogeny comprising the desired trait and the physiological andmorphological characteristic of bean line 08550815; and (e) repeatingsteps (c) and (d) three or more times to produce selected fourth orhigher backcross progeny that comprise the desired trait and essentiallyall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of bean line08550815 when grown in the same environmental conditions.
 19. A beanplant produced by the method of claim
 18. 20. A method of producing aplant of bean line 08550815 comprising an added desired trait, themethod comprising introducing a transgene conferring the desired traitinto a plant of bean line 08550815, a sample of seed of said line08550815 having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9965. 21.A seed of the plant of claim
 19. 22. A method of determining thegenotype of the plant of claim 2, comprising obtaining a sample ofnucleic acids from said plant and detecting in said nucleic acids aplurality of polymorphisms.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising the step of storing the results of detecting the plurality ofpolymorphisms on a computer readable medium.
 24. A computer readablemedium produced by the method of claim
 23. 25. A method of producingbeans comprising: (a) obtaining the plant of claim 2, wherein the planthas been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting beans from theplant.